30 Clubs in 30 Songs: Oakland

20 down, 10 to go! When I got the idea of writing the songs in this project in the style of a band that comes from the teams’ areas (an idea that really solidified with Atlanta), one band immediately sprung to mind for Oakland: Green Day – one of the most well-known bands from the East Bay region. Since my first taste of them was with their big crossover in 1994, that’s where I went in terms of the music here. Lyrically, I decided to write as a kid just getting called up from Triple-A… only to play in Oakland, home of by far the most expansive foul territory in the majors (I’ve heard people claim that the foul territory in Oakland drops batting averages at least 20 points). But he’s still convinced that if he does something worthwhile in the majors, he’ll “find somewhere else to go,” if the stories about Moneyball are to be believed. When it came time to sing, the melody was fairly simple to put together… mainly because Billie Joe Armstrong and I have quite similar voice ranges. Regardless, this song was a fun way to pay homage to an album that completely changed the way a 13-year-old Ed looked at music. Enjoy!